Capacitive touch sense elements may be used to replace mechanical buttons, knobs and other similar mechanical user interface controls. The use of a capacitive sense element allows for the elimination of complicated mechanical switches and buttons, providing reliable operation under harsh conditions. Capacitive touch sense elements can be arranged in the form of a sense array for a touch-sense surface. When a conductive object, such as a finger, comes in contact or close proximity with the touch-sense surface, the capacitance of one or more capacitive touch sense elements changes. The capacitance changes of the capacitive touch sense elements can be measured by an electrical circuit. The electrical circuit converts the measured capacitances of the capacitive touch sense elements into digital values.
In practice, contemporary capacitive touch sense elements find use in a wide variety of modern customer applications including laptops, cell phones, and automotive applications, which may be exposed to widely varying environmental conditions. For example, moisture, high humidity, or sharp changes in the ambient temperature may adversely affect the electrical characteristics of the capacitive touch sense elements, causing the tracking algorithms to report false touches or ignore real touches. This results in inaccurate and unreliable position tracking in many real-world applications.